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First Nations and civil liberties groups call for investigation into police carding

VANCOUVER—The B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs are calling for an investigation into the racial disparities evident in the Vancouver Police Department’s practice of street checks, also known as carding.

The complaint was based on data released in May on VPD street checks from 2008-2017, showing that Indigenous and Black people were checked, or stopped and asked for identification, at a disproportionately a higher rate than the rest of the population. Indigenous people, who make up 2 per cent of the Vancouver population, were found to have made up 16 per cent of street checks; and Black people, who are 1 per cent of the population, made up 5 per cent of checks.

Elaine Durocher, a Métis woman and resident of Downtown Eastside, was joined by representatives of the BCCLA, the UBCIC and Black Lives Matter Vancouver. She said that the frequency of street checks on members of the DTES community has made some people fear leaving their homes and being out on the street. (Cherise Seucharan/StarMetro)

At a news conference on Thursday, the BCCLA and the UBCIC were joined by representatives from Vancouver’s Indigenous and Black communities to announce the filing of a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner and call for an immediate investigation.

Elaine Durocher, a Métis woman and longtime resident of the Downtown Eastside, said she is routinely stopped on the street and racially targeted.

“As an Indigenous women in the Downtown Eastside, the police are harassing and stopping us on the street. I feel it’s just harassment to be asked where I’m going, what I’m doing,” said Durocher. She said that the frequency of street checks on members of the DTES community has made some people fear leaving their homes and being out on the street.

“Poverty is not a crime, homelessness is not a crime, being a person of colour is not a crime.”

Josh Paterson, executive director of the BCCLA, said that the to the racial disparities in the VPD data points to clear discrimination.

“It is difficult for us to imagine any conclusion other than street checks are conducted in a discriminatory manner here in Vancouver,” said Paterson. “We are asking for an immediate independent investigation to determine what is going on and how this can be fixed.”

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Robert Chamberlin, vice-president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said that the VPD needs to develop overarching guidelines and policies on street checks in order to prevent racial discrimination.

“Here we have a situation with the Vancouver police department’s own data that clearly shows a need to understand this situation and call on the powers that be to develop clear policies to guide the action of the VPD,” he said. “The time of justice is now.”

In a statement, VPD media relations officer Jacson Doucette said street checks are prompted by suspected criminal activity, not race.

“The VPD’s street checks are not based on ethnicity. If our officers see potential criminal activity or a threat to public safety, they are bound by law, including the Police Act, to address it … A person’s race does not factor into an officer’s decision to take action to prevent a crime. There is a strong association between street checks and criminal charges. The numbers show that the percentage of street checks by ethnicity is comparable to percentages by ethnicity for charges and recommended charges.”

Doucette said that the VPD will be working on delivering a response soon.

“The Vancouver Police Department will review the policy complaint submitted today to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner and provide a fulsome response with additional data, analysis, and context, in the coming weeks.”

Cherise Seucharan is a Vancouver-based reporter covering health and safety/youth. Follow her on Twitter: @CSeucharan

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